Be sure to watch for Kirkus’ in-depth columns on a new movie version of Bethan Roberts’ novel My Policeman, starring Harry Styles (premiering on Prime Video on Nov. 4); and an upcoming film based on Emma Donoghue’s Kirkus-starred novel The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh (premiering on Netflix on Nov. 16). In the meantime, here are four more book-to-screen adaptations coming up in November:
Nov. 4: Enola Holmes 2 (film premiere, Netflix)
The 2020 film Enola Holmes adapted Nancy Springer’s series-starting 2006 YA novel, The Case of the Missing Marquess, which received a Kirkus star. In both the book and movie, Sherlock Holmes’ teenage sister, Enola—a daring and talented investigator herself—hunts for her missing mother and a runaway teenage noble: the Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether. Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown is truly charming in the role of Enola, who has a tendency to talk directly to the audience (“Do you have any ideas?” she frustratedly asks the viewer at one point); The Witcher’s Henry Cavill, as Sherlock, and Helena Bonham Carter as their free-spirited mother, Eudoria, also deliver memorable turns. This movie sequel appears to share some elements with the second entry in Springer’s series, 2007’s The Case of the Left-Handed Lady. Its trailer promises another fun action-adventure as Enola’s search for a missing match-factory worker intersects with one of her illustrious brother’s cases.
Nov. 17: Fleishman Is in Trouble (miniseries premiere, FX on Hulu)
Taffy Brodesser-Akner adapts her own Kirkus-starred novel for this new miniseries about the foibles of a group of middle-aged professionals, which features an impressive cast. It stars Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg as the titular Toby Fleishman, a 40-something hepatologist who’s navigating the world of online dating apps while also dealing with the fact that his ex-wife, talent agent Rachel (Emmy winner Claire Danes), has disappeared without a trace after dropping off their two small children at his Manhattan apartment. The always-excellent Lizzy Caplan plays Libby Slater, a New Jersey-based magazine journalist and old friend of Toby’s who narrates the novel and confronts angst of her own. Kirkus’ reviewer wrote that book was “Firing on all circuits, from psychological insight to cultural acuity to narrative strategy to very smart humor”; it was named one of Kirkus’ Best Books of 2019.
Nov. 18: She Said (theatrical film premiere)
New York Times journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published articles in 2017 that drew on interviews with multiple women who accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment; their reporting garnered the Times a Pulitzer Prize. In 2019, they published a memoir of their reporting, which Kirkus’ reviewer called “admirable and suspenseful” and “a fitting testament to the power of persistence and dedication in exposing critical crime.” This new film—directed by Maria Schrader, who also helmed the Emmy-winning Netflix miniseries Unorthodox—stars The Dig’s Carey Mulligan as Twohey and The Plot Against America’s Zoe Kazan as Kantor, and its trailer promises a tense investigative thriller in the mold of All the President’s Men and Spotlight.
Nov. 18: Bones and All (theatrical film premiere)
In Camille DeAngelis’ 2015 YA horror novel, 16-year-old Maren Yearly eats people, and she’s done so since she was a very small child; her babysitter was her first victim. Others followed, and, recently, her fearful mother abandoned her. Now Maren’s on a quest to find her absent father; along the way she finds others who share her culinary habits—including fellow teen Lee, with whom she forges a real connection. Kirkus’ reviewer wasn’t a fan of the book, but this film adaptation reunites acclaimed Italian director Luca Guadagnino with his Call Me by Your Name star Timothée Chalamet, which will intrigue that film’s many fans. Chalamet plays Lee, and the excellent actor Taylor Russell, who co-starred in the critically lauded 2019 film Waves, stars as Maren; both are sure to make this strange tale worth watching.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.